Friday, June 28, 2013

No one should be surprised that funeral giant SCI would lie and break federal laws during contract talks. SCI has in the past hired gun-toting goons to spy on its workers during negotiations.

The $3.8 billion company buys neighborhood funeral homes, siphons money from the community and tries to impoverish its workers.

SCI is currently in contract negotiations with Chicago-area funeral directors and drivers who are members of Local 727. The Houston-based corporation is demanding the workers agree to elimination of their pension, increased health care costs and a wage freeze for new hires. And it's not as if the company is hurting. Its stock went up 56 percent in the last year.

SCI is also lying to the employees and negotiators. That's against the law. The press release from Local 727 explains:

On or about June 24 and 25, in violation of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), SCI engaged in bad faith bargaining with the union by making unlawful omissions and misrepresentations in memos issued to its employees and negotiators. Additionally, SCI issued memos that contained implied threats to interfere with employees’ current benefits in violation of section 8(a)(1) of the NLRA.

The funeral directors are asking the public for support. (You can help by signing this online petition here.)

The Sun-Times obviously does not want to offend a consistent revenue source. It’s ironic that a newspaper that makes its money off the First Amendment would do this.

Here's the ad, which warns of a labor dispute:

We, the undersigned funeral directors and drivers, are proud to be able to assist grieving families in their greatest time of need, and we have dedicated our lives and careers to this important service.

Over the last seven years, we have made sacrifices — including wage cuts and freezes — in order to help SCI. Now, the company wants to eliminate our pensions and slash our benefits. Their shameful actions could force us out on strike and cause further harm to the Chicago community...

These walls hide real nasty behavior

As funeral directors and drivers, we are not nameless, faceless workers; we are licensed professionals who have spent years fostering strong relationships with the families we serve. SCI needs to know they cannot treat us this way.

In the event of a labor dispute, please visit IntegrityInIllinois.com or call (312) 206-4123 to be directed to alternative funeral facilities.

About the guns: Six years ago, the Teamster funeral directors were caucusing in a South Side hotel room between negotiating sessions with SCI. A female Teamster negotiator left the room and returned to find a large man who was clearly carrying a gun listening at the door. He tried to intimidate her, but she brushed past him. Funeral directors fanned out across the hotel grounds and identified several more armed goons. The Teamsters immediately filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board.

A California man who chalked "Stop Big Banks" on a sidewalk faces a possible prison sentence of 13 years, while a banker whose firm "disappeared" $1.2 billion dollars faces no jail time whatsoever.

The California man, Jonathan Olson, is a former aide to the U.S. senator from Washington. Blogger Jonathan Turley tells us he can't even bring up the First Amendment during his trial.

Olson used water-soluble statements like “Stop big banks,” and “Stop Bank Blight.com” outside Bank of America branches last year to protest the company’s practices. He eventually gave up his protest but prosecutors later brought 13 charges against him. Now a judge has reportedly banned his attorney from “mentioning the First Amendment, free speech, free expression, public forum, expressive conduct, or political speech during the trial.” It appears someone associated with Bank of American could finally go to jail, but it will not by the bank officials in the financial scandal. It is the guy writing slogans in chalk in the sidewalk.

Jon Corzine, the former head of MF Global, faces a fine because his company robbed clients of $1.2 billion.

Federal regulators on Thursday filed civil charges against former MF Global Holdings Ltd. Chief Executive Jon S. Corzine and a top lieutenant for overseeing the misuse of almost $1 billion in customer funds, saying Mr. Corzine "bears responsibility" for the New York commodities brokerage's 2011 demise...

The agency also charged a former executive at the firm, Edith O'Brien, with misusing customer funds, saying she aided and abetted the violations. The agency is seeking monetary penalties from Mr. Corzine and Ms. O'Brien and to ban the two from ever again trading commodities on Wall Street.

The CFTC's 47-page complaint depicts Mr. Corzine as instrumental in making decisions that put customer accounts at risk by allegedly moving money in violation of strict rules prohibiting such transfers.

Here's how relentlessly Bank of America went after Jonathan Olson, according to Turley:

Darell Freeman, vice president of Bank of America’s Global Corporate Security ... reportedly demanded action from local prosecutors. Olson stopped when contacted by the San Diego Gang Unit in 2012.

Yet, the bank insisted the chalk caused $6,000 to clean up, a rather suspicious claim. These were slogans written on the sidewalk. Prosecutors hit him with 13 counts of misdemeanor vandalism charges and $13,000 in restitution to the City and to Bank of America.

Freeman reportedly continued to hound police to bring charges and reports state that on April 15, Deputy City Attorney Paige Hazard contacted Freeman with the good news. “I wanted to let you know that we will be filing 13 counts of vandalism as a result of the incidents you reported.”

If the CFTC wins their civil lawsuit against Corzine, beyond being banned from trading, they could impose stiff personal penalties. Generally speaking it looks like Corzine will be personally sued into political and economic oblivion as he has been bombarded with private lawsuits already in addition to the government now filing civil litigation against him. Yet of course no one is actually going to jail for illegally using and losing over $1 billion of customer's funds.

Contrast that with the 20 year prison sentence commonly imposed for sticking up the local 7/11.

California Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to sign legislation to change a corporate tax break that cost Teamsters their jobs.

The state Assembly yesterday approved the bill, AB 93, yesterday.

For years, companies across the Golden State used the $750 million-a-year enterprise zone program as a way to relocate good-paying jobs to other areas deemed economically challenged. Then the companies pay the workers less in the new location. In some cases, corporations used the tax breaks for hiring decisions made years earlier.

Brown called the program wasteful and pushed for reform. The bill approved by both chambers of the California Legislature this week strips the power of the state's 40 locally owned enterprise zones. It replaces the program with a broader slate of statewide business incentives. About $200 million would be used for updated enterprise zones that target the hiring of the poor and unemployed.

The California Labor Federation praised the legislation for replacing the existing program with one that will improve the state's job market:

By flipping the broken enterprise zone program into Gov. Brown's smart, strategic plan for job growth, the Legislature strengthened California's economic recovery. We applaud the Legislature for rooting out the waste and abuse in California's enterprise zone program and shifting those tax dollars to create good jobs that boost local economies.

The governor, unions and others had complained enterprise zones strayed from their original purpose. The program had turned into a big business giveaway for jobs that largely would have been available without the tax breaks. It often led a company to move from one place in the state to another. In several cases, employers left their unionized shops behind to set up non-union workplaces elsewhere.

Earlier this year, wenoted Teamsters from building products distributor Blue Linx and laboratory supply and distribution company VWR lost their jobs when their employers moved elsewhere in California and they were told they could not follow the company to its new location. The enterprise zones program allowed businesses to receive tax breaks of $37,500 for each new
employee they hired.

From
1978 to 2012, CEO compensation measured with options realized increased about 875
percent, arise more than double stock market growth and substantially greater than
the painfully slow 5.4 percent growth in a typical worker’s compensation over the
same period.

Turns
out, even for one-percenters, CEOs are being paid ridiculous amounts:

Over the last three decades, CEO compensation
grew far faster than that of other highly paid workers, those earning more than
99.9 percent of other wage earners. CEO compensation
in 2010 was 4.70 times greater than that of the top 0.1 percent of wage earners,
a ratio 1.62 higher (a wage gain roughly equivalent to that of 1.6 high wage earners)
than the 3.08 ratio that prevailed over the 1947-1979 period.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Reports
have been flying around today that the Obama administration would suspend
Bangladesh’s trade privileges in response to continued concerns over worker
safety, yielding to pressure from labor and Democrats in Congress.

The International
Labor Rights Forum has taken action by drafting its “Accord
on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh” which calls on clothing
manufacturers to take responsibility for the conditions at the factories where
their products are produced. More than 40 apparel and retail companies have
signed the agreement that requires companies to participate in and fund a
program of independent safety inspections, remediation, and worker safety trainings
with the involvement of trade unions.

However, this is not a problem unique to Bangladesh, nor can
we depend on the industry to fix the problem. The garment industry as a whole
is viewed as being reluctant to take an active role in promoting worker safety
and rights at facilities in countries that have weak or nonexistent labor laws.

The only way to ensure that workers’ rights are protected is
to change the way the U.S. drafts it trade agreements, building in human and
worker’s rights provisions that must be followed by the trade partners. Until
the U.S. holds its trade partners responsible for improving working conditions
in poor, developing nations, we will continue to see tragedies like April’s
horrific accident occur. Workers will continue to toil away for low pay in
unsafe conditions with no recourse.

Amtrak desperately needs long-term funding, but Republicans in the House of Representatives want to cut federal spending on Amtrak by 29 percent and eliminate funding for high speed rail.

Brother John Tolman from the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen today urged members of Congress to support long-term funding for Amtrak. Tolman was speaking on behalf of 37,000 active BLET members and over 70,000 Rail Conference members. He told the Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials subcommittee:

The BLET supports of the concept of a unified national plan for our nation’s passenger and freight railroads, as it is consistent with our desire for long-term planning and financing of rail. It also is imperative that any National Rail Policy would protect the interests of the men and women who work in the railroad industry.

In order for our nation to meet the economic and environmental challenges that we face, we must continue to invest in infrastructure and to develop and plan for new means to get goods and people from place to place, in the most fuel efficient means possible; Rail clearly is the best means of doing this.

Tolman cited Amtrak's successes:

On the passenger side, Amtrak and other intercity and commuter railroads, and its employees, have the knowledge, skills and abilities to develop, implement and grow passenger rail in this country. They have done great work and continue to set ridership records, across the US. Passenger rail is a great example of the old quote (Field of Dreams) “if you build it, they will come”. On Amtrak, this cycle of underfunding must end, they desperately need long term funding.

And he pleaded for safety:

Too often, cost benefit analysis is used as the sole objection against moving ahead on a Rail Safety Projects.

If we could rewind time and freeze the moment before any fatal accident — such as Macdona, Texas or Graniteville, NC, occurred and talk to that train crew, or residents, who among us would like to explain them that they would die in the accident, not from the accident itself but from smoke or hazardous materials inhalation because the Congressionally-mandated emergency escape breathing apparatus or switch point indicators failed a cost benefit analysis?

Let’s work to implement feasible, protective safety opportunities for the public and the employees. As Ed Hamburger, testified last week in the Senate, and stated “Job Safety is the number 1 issue, for the industry.” Let’s walk the walk and talk the talk, and get things done together.

You can join the chorus of voices urging adequate funding for Amtrak and high-speed rail by sending a letter to Congress here.

The Washington, D.C., City Council took an important step to ensure large retailers like Walmart pay a fair wage. The Council tentatively approved a bill yesterday requiring such companies to pay their employees at least $12.50 an hour.

By an 8-to-5 vote, the council backed a measure that would raise the minimum wage for those who work at big box retailers by $4.25 an hour. Workers qualify if they are employed at non-union shops that are at least 75,000 square feet and whose parent companies gross above $1 billion annually. Lawmakers are expected to take a final vote on the legislation next month.

Three Walmart stores are currently being built in the nation's capital, and two are expected to open this year. Other D.C. retailers that could be affected include Target and Home Depot.

One of the bill's sponsors, Council member Vincent Orange said it is time for workers' interests to be supported in the city.

For once in your life, stop worrying about business, because business is going to take care of itself.

Other people took to Twitter to express their support of the legislation. Sam Jewler tweeted the measure could have the effect of increasing salaries across the city.

This bill says lets have the biggest market actors pull wages UP instead of DOWN. Very simple idea, benefits all.

The vote is a victory for workers who have stood up to the nation's largest retailer as part of the Our Walmart campaign. Scores of workers have periodically gone on strike in recent months across the country to protest low pay and benefits at the retail chain. That effort is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

The Teamsters are supporting Walmart workers in their quest for better
treatment. Teamsters around the country joined actions at local Walmart stores on June 7,
the day of the chain's annual meeting. Rallies were held at
dozens of Walmart stores around the U.S. that day.

As Teamster funeral directors in Chicago head into talks with corporate giant SCI tomorrow, they're hoping they don't have to sanction a possible strike or job actions at local funeral homes and cemeteries.

But the company's unchecked greed and indignation may force strikes and labor disputes.

The Teamster funeral directors' new website, integrityinillinois.com, explains SCI is a $3.8 billion company with about 13 percent of the market share in the funeral industry.

Founded in 1962, SCI has grown into a company with 1,423 funeral service locations and 374 cemeteries (including 214 funeral service/cemetery combination locations) in North America. The company’s business model is based on buying successful funeral homes that are well known in any given community. The company then retains the home’s original name and often the home’s original owners as managers. Many times the affected community doesn’t even know a multi-billion dollar corporation now owns the funeral home.

You'd think a company would reward its employees after its stock rose 56 percent in the last year. You'd be wrong. SCI is demanding 40 concessions from the funeral directors who have made it so successful. The funeral home giant wants to eliminate the pension plan, raise the cost of health insurance, freeze wages for new hires and remove protections for disabled employees.

You can help your brothers and sisters at Chicago funeral homes by signing the petition here. It says, in part,

These workers are professionals who provide an invaluable service to grieving families, and they deserve the same respect they give to our communities.

Unionized drivers in the curbside bus industry are laying down rules that make the trip safer for everyone -- and more profitable for the company.

After years of frustration with dangerous working conditions, low pay, and terrible healthcare, contract negotiations with Megabus workers in Chicago at Local 777 and Springfield, N.J., at Local 102 have made their buses safer.

“If you are respected by your company, you have this sense that this is a profession,” said Courtney Bell, business agent for Teamsters Local 777. “Drivers have enforceable safety standards (and) Megabus is held accountable to (that) contract.”

The wages of most of these drivers are abysmally low. The website Glassdoor.com pegs the top wage of drivers at just $29,000 per year. The low wages often force workers to take a second job during their off hours—hours in which they should be resting before their next run.

In order to save even more money, discount operators encourage or coerce their drivers to work overtime, thus avoiding the need to hire enough drivers to actually do the work.

The company repeatedly dispatched another driver whose medical certificate had expired and had been falsified. Drivers were not required by the company to turn in hours-of-service records or other required documentation such as driving itineraries and fuel receipts.

Without strong union support, drivers aren’t the only people left vulnerable. The public is safer with rested, healthy and professional drivers – and the reputation of the company has flourished because of it.

Since Megabus drivers in the Chicago and New Jersey hubs become Teamsters two years ago, Megabus has almost doubled its total amount of customer trips. Unlike other companies, the unionized Megabus hubs are doing more business than ever.

The Supreme Court means business when it issues a decision. Big business, that is.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce during the just-ended court session won more cases than ever, prevailing in 13 of the 16 appeals in which it took a position. The latest examples came this week when the nation's top corporate lobbying group won three cases that shield big business from existing law.

Two of the cases made it easier for companies to strike back at workers who allege they are victims of discrimination. The other granted legal immunity to a generic drug manufacturer whose product reportedly caused severe burns to a patient's body.

In one instance, the high court went even further than the government officials who initially put the policy in place. Per Think Progress:

Notably the Court deferred so completely to the Chamber [this week] that it adopted a harsh rule limiting sexual and racial harassment claims even though the attorney arguing that case on behalf of the defendant — a former Solicitor General under George W. Bush — would not endorse the rule himself while he was arguing the case. So the five conservative justices sided with the Chamber even though no party before the Court agreed with the Chamber’s position.

That is not good news for the nation's workers. Fortunately, not everyone involved in the lawmaking process has it out for us. Rep. Alan Grayson introduced legislation that would expand the legal remedies available to non-union workers who are punished for workplace activism. Beyond seeking redress from the National Labor Relations Board, it would allow most employees to sue their boss in civil court for retaliating, and the chance to seek an injunction to swiftly reverse the alleged retaliation.

Sadly there is little chance the legislation will be taking up during the current Congress. The House Republican leadership ensures it. But we hail policymakers who take a stand on behalf of middle-class families. And we live to fight another day.

U.S. CEO sets a record with $159 million pension Associated Press ...McKesson’s Chairman and CEO John Hammergren has set a new record in corporate America: Largest pension around...CEO Pay in 2012 Was Extraordinarily High Relative to Typical Workers and Other High Earners EPI ...Average CEO compensation was $14.1 million in 2012...Jeff Olson, California Man, Faces 13 Years In Jail For Writing Anti-Big Bank Messages In Chalk Huffington Post ...a judge had decided to prohibit Olson's attorney from "mentioning the First Amendment, free speech, free expression, public forum, expressive conduct, or political speech during the trial..."Foreclosure settlement a billion-dollar bust USA Today ...The renegotiated settlement created a $3.6 billion pot to compensate borrowers for shoddy foreclosure practices that ran the gamut from wrongful foreclosures to lost consumer documents.About two-thirds of the recipients received $300 — the smallest possible amount. Fewer than 1,200 got $125,000, the most allowed...Trans-Pacific Partnership and Monsanto ZCommunications ...Something is looming in the shadows that could help erode our basic rights and contaminate our food...OSHA Citations Follow Fatal Explosion at Cincinnati Hazardous Waste Plant Waste Management World ...Environmental Enterprises, an environmental services company specializing in industrial and hazardous waste management, has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) with 22 safety and health violations following a fire and explosion at its Cincinnati waste treatment facility on December 28 last year...Amtrak: $1.45B Senate appropriation 'workable' The Hill ...The safety and efficiency of Amtrak is at stake. The Senate is proposing to fund the railroad at $1.4 billion, which is simply too low. The proposed funding would jeopardize Teamster locomotive engineers and maintenance of way members...Nevada attorney general urges stronger service member protections KNTV-13 ...Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto urged the U.S. Department of Defense to strengthen regulations of the federal Military Lending Act, to protect service members and military families from abusive lending practices...NY Legislature OKs Employee-Driver Bill Journal of Commerce ...The New York State Legislature gave final approval to a bill creating the presumption that commercial drivers are company employees unless they meet certain standards showing they are independent contractors...Teamsters Approve National UPS ContractIBT ...The Teamsters Union announced yesterday that a majority of UPS Teamsters have voted to approve a new five-year national contract that contains significant wage increases and other improvements. However, the UPS Freight agreement was rejected in a separate referendum...Lake Transit workers plan strike following contract negotiations breakdown Lake County (Calif.) News ...The county's transit agency is preparing for a strike action by transit workers that's expected to take place early next week. The strike by members of Teamsters Local 665 is anticipated to take place on Monday, July 1, and Tuesday, July 2, in response to a breakdown in negotiations with Paratransit Services…Brunswick City Council opposes ‘right-to-work’ legislation Medina-Gazette ...City Council members in Brunswick, Ohio approved a resolution opposing “right-to-work” legislation Monday night, with the support of more than 30 union members and their families in attendance...The University of California – Teamster Strong! Rick Smith Show ...On June 19, the Rick Smith Show visited Teamsters Joint Council 42 in Los Angeles and spoke with Don Thornsburg, labor historian about the origins of Los Angeles labor unions and the various industries that were essential for the growth of southern California. Listen here. Visit the People’s Tour of America page daily to hear the latest from Rick Smith’s road travels...Teamsters contract ratified, but dispute with Manchester teachers’ union continues New Hampshire Union Leader ...The Manchester, New Hampshire Board of School Committee ratified two-year contracts with the district’s principals and the directors and coordinators, who are represented by Teamsters Local 633...County Board OKs labor agreement, pay raises Duluth News Tribune ...St. Louis County commissioners on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to salary agreements for three categories of employees that include Teamster members...Teamsters on strike at RL Lipton The Vindicator ...Workers are on strike at RL Lipton Distributing Co. in Austintown, Ohio. The members of Teamsters 377 started picketing Tuesday morning at the company…Durham Driver Speaks Out About Poor Working Conditions Drive Up Standards ...“My co-worker said, ‘I cannot afford to miss a day from work,’ even though she’s the one that found her mama dead that afternoon.” --Latrisha Pringle, a school bus driver, talks about poor working conditions at Durham School Services in S.C. The Teamsters are fighting for justice at Durham. Watch the video here...

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

We know you're interested in what's going on with UPS, so we're just posting the press release here:

The Teamsters Union announced today that a majority of UPS Teamsters have voted to approve a new five-year national contract that contains significant wage increases and other improvements.

The vote on the contract, the largest collective bargaining agreement in North America, was
34,307 to 30,202

The union also announced that UPS Freight Teamsters have rejected a proposed five-year national agreement with UPS Freight by a vote of 1,897 to 4,244.

Highlights of the new UPS contract, which covers about 240,000 union-represented employees, include wage increases totaling $3.90 per hour over the five-year term of the agreement, an increase in the starting part-time wage rate, the creation of 2,350 full-time jobs, protections from harassment and intimidation by supervisors, protections for employees who choose to work fewer hours in a day and guaranteed vacation time for employees coming back from military leave and other improvements. The agreement also maintains the current practice of no employee contributions for monthly premiums for health insurance.

A provision in the contract that changes the health care plan for some UPS Teamsters led to the rejection of 17 local supplements and riders to the national agreement. The provision moves 140,000 UPS Teamsters from their current UPS health plan into a new plan that will be jointly administered by the Teamsters Union and employers. That change was made because during negotiations, UPS said it would cut health benefits that members currently receive in the company plan and raise the cost to employees significantly.

The Teamster negotiating committees responsible for the supplements and riders that were not approved by a majority of voting members will be talking with the members in their areas. In the meantime, the Teamsters Union will schedule meetings to engage the company in further negotiations to achieve our members’ objectives.

The Teamsters National UPS Freight Negotiating Committee will be scheduling negotiations with UPS Freight soon in order to address members’ concerns. That agreement, which covers about 10,000 union-represented workers, will then need to be voted on again by the members.

The 99 Percent has awakened to the reality that corporations will co-opt their governments and impoverish them all unless we stop them.

Call it the global revolt against poverty. And labor unions are at the vanguard.

The mainstream media has been slow to connect the massive unrest that's roiled the globe over the past few years. You can draw a straight line from the Wisconsin uprising of 2011 to protests against No Rights At Work in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan, through the Occupy movement all the way to today's Moral Monday protests in North Carolina.

They are all part and parcel of the same discontent with billionaires and corporations that have grown too powerful and too predatory. And practically everywhere, unions are leading the fight.

In Europe, the 99 percent is fed up with cuts to education, health care and retirement pensions so governments can pay back the banks that cheated them. They want an end to the misery of high unemployment, inequality and a recession that never ends. In Spain, Portugal and France, the tens of thousands who marched in the streets on Friday call themselves the Citizen's Tide. Pravda reports:

The criticism of this "Citizen's Tide" against austerity cuts and bailout of banks joined together unions, associations and organizations fighting against evictions or the pressure on citizens exerted by the banks which have been rescued with public funds.

The story is a little different in the United States, but only by degree. Unions are leading the battle against the unfair employment system that robs workers of wages, freedom and dignity. Sometimes that takes the form of a lobbying campaign against the TPP. Sometimes it takes shape as a massive protest against an anti-worker bill being rammed through a legislature. Sometimes it's a court battle over an abusive workplace practice. Sometimes it's the boots on the ground for a political campaign.

But wherever there's a fight for decent wages, for education for children, for retirement security for all, for fairness and freedom in the workplace, you will find a union member in the thick of it.

An overwhelming majority of voters in the Smithfield Foods district in Virginia are deeply concerned about the sale of the pork producer to Chinese firm Shuanghui International. They take a dismal view of their community's future if a Chinese company buys the major employer.

The potential future of that Virginia district is a microcosm of what life would be like for U.S. workers if the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is ultimately approved.

A poll conducted last week on the website of Rep. Randy Forbes, who represents the Smithfield district, asked constituents what they thought of the deal. More than 90 percent said a CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.) review of the acquisition should examine its impact on food safety, the environment and U.S. economic interests.

Food Safety News reported that 15 senators have asked the CFIUS committee to include U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration representatives to review the deal's effect on food safety.

Food-safety worries are rife across China after multiple scandals in recent years. Shuanghui apologized to consumers and withdrew products after a 2011 television exposé revealed use of an illegal additive to produce leaner pork. Like all pork producers in China, Shuanghui does not breed most of its own pigs. Thousands of dead pigs floating in a river near Shanghai this March offered a stark reminder of widespread lax practices.

Voters are also concerned about jobs that continue to support middle-class families. A USA Today report says the average Shuanghui worker only makes $500 a month, while the 1,600 workers at Smithfield's Denison, Iowa, pork-processing plant typically make about $700 a week.

American workers are worried about workplace safety as well. The Food and Commercial Workers Union points out that Chinese processing plants have been plagued by accidents.

Concerns like these will only grow if Congress approves the TPP corporate-empowerment deal. Why? Because U.S. companies will engage in a race to the bottom with those in many developing nations. American workers will be undercut as jobs will either be shifted overseas or wages will be cut. The quality of life for working Americans will continue to fall. Communities will be hollowed out by shuttered factories. The government will be forced to accept food from other countries that doesn't meet our standards.

No one is against trade, just unfair trade. When the U.S. negotiates a trade agreement, every provision should benefit working families, not big corporations. It is time to rebuild the middle class, not tear it down, and that means trade deals that benefit working Americans.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Police arrested 120 people protesting the ALEC-backed anti-worker agenda at the eighth Moral Monday protest in Raleigh, N.C., last night. Organizers and law enforcement agreed it was the largest such rally to date, attracting upwards of 5,000 attendees.

So far nearly 600 people have been arrested for voicing their disgust with the policies put forward by Gov. Pat McCrory and the Republican-majority Legislature. These elected officials are pushing bills that would slash education and health care while cutting corporate taxes, all of which would hurt the working- and middle-class. Supporters of those views received significant support during last year's elections by state budget director Art Pope, a disciple of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

James Andrew, president of the North Carolina AFL-CIO, was among those arrested yesterday. The Moral Monday protesters criticized unemployment benefit cuts that will end extended benefits for some 70,000 state residents at the end of the month. North Carolina is the only state in the country opting to restrict benefits instead of using federal dollars to continue covering these job seekers.

Raleigh resident Lee Creighton said he's been having trouble finding work since earning a master's degree. He argued he isn't the deadbeat that some lawmakers are trying to portray:

If this is such a vacation, why do I cry to sleep every night?

Despite the dire consequences that could result from the Legislature's actions, demonstrators who took to social media said the mood of attendees was largely upbeat. That includes those who ended up on one of the five buses that carried them off to jail.

Carrsboro resident Kyle Bailey tweeted that a crowd gathered outside where those who had been arrested were booked to lend them support:

At detention center, arrestees starting to stream out to applause.

Others said it is time to further grow the movement. From Twitter user Thurman:

Looks like it's time for the other 49 to take a lesson from North Carolina. Let's take Moral Monday nationwide!

Missouri Teamsters deserve high praise for working to make sure the bill didn't pass with a veto-proof majority. They sent thousands of emails to their representatives in Jefferson City urging them not to vote for this blatant attempt to weaken unions.

Paycheck deception bills have been popping up in state legislatures all over the country. They're part of ALEC's continuing effort to muscle the working class out of politics and government.

Nixon acknowledged as much in his veto message:

The bill targets a single group of employees and imposes on them an unnecessary and cumbersome process.

There are a number of items that employees may elect to have withheld from their paychecks, including money for college savings accounts, deferred compensation, and 401(k) plans...Singling out union dues for these extra processes serves no beneficial purpose. Rather, the bill places unnecessary burdens on public employees for the purpose of weakening labor organizations.

We are grateful that Governor Nixon stands as a firewall against the extremist agenda that would unfairly take rights away from workers and seeks to lower wages in our state. He joins the courageous legislators in both parties who sided with working people despite pressure from out-of-state special interest groups.

David Asmus, a utility lineman in Scott County, said such laws come straight from corporate special interests and shady front groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council and Americans for Prosperity.

Legislators should be looking for solutions to the problems facing Missouri instead of doing the bidding of their corporate backers and out-of-state front groups.

Teamster funeral directors in Chicago are in tough contract talks with SCI, a Houston-based company that’s trying to force steep concessions. They may need your support in the very near future.

Teamsters Local 727 has been negotiating a contract for its 59 funeral directors and drivers at 17 area SCI funeral homes since June 14. The current contract expires at 12 a.m., Monday, July 1, and talks will continue through June 30.

Over the course of negotiations, SCI has approximately 50 regressive changes to the current contract including:

American factory exec says he's being held hostage by scores of angry workers in Beijing Associated Press ...An American executive said Monday he has been held hostage for four days at his medical supply plant in Beijing by scores of workers demanding severance packages like those given to 30 co-workers in a phased-out department...76% of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck CNN Money ...Fewer than one in four Americans have enough money in their savings account to cover at least six months of expenses, enough to help cushion the blow of a job loss, medical emergency or some other unexpected event, according to the survey of 1,000 adults. Meanwhile, 50% of those surveyed have less than a three-month cushion and 27% had no savings at all...U.S. Surveillance Is Not Aimed at Terrorists Bloomberg ...monitoring phone calls is hardly the way to catch terrorists. They’re generally not dumb enough to use Verizon...Court makes it harder to sue businesses Associated Press ...The court's conservatives, in two 5-4 decisions, ruled that a person must be able to hire and fire someone to be considered a supervisor in discrimination lawsuits, making it harder to blame a business for a co-worker's racism or sexism. The court then decided to limit how juries can decide retaliation lawsuits...Supreme Court to decide whether union-business agreement valid The Republic ...The Supreme Court will decide whether a business and a union's agreement is valid after the business helped the union organize in return for help with a ballot initiative...Lawmakers want to stop government from buying USA flags from China Daily Caller ...Lawmakers in the House of Representatives are renewing a push to stop the federal government from buying and flying American flags made outside the country...They’re not telling us all of it Trade Reform ...I met with 22 Congressional offices last week. None of them had seen the TPP language...Rising middle class fuels Brazil's protests Forbes ... in the protests that have gripped Brazil since last week, regional experts say economic growth is actually feeding discontent, as a rising middle class puts demands on social services such as education and transportation that the government has failed to meet...7-Eleven convenience stores raided as part of US probe Associated Press ...Federal authorities say they’ve raided 7-Eleven convenience stores in two US states as part of a probe into human smuggling, identity theft and money laundering...McDonald's pay practice scrutinized by federal authorities Citizens’ Voice ...As a lawsuit against a local McDonald's franchise gains national attention, federal authorities are investigating the company's practice of forcing employees to be paid only by debit cards that come with an assortment of fees...Twinkies Set to Make 'Sweetest Comeback' in July ABC News ...Hostess is now owned by the private equity firms Apollo Global Management and Metropoulos & Co...Wearing a mask at a riot is now a crime CBC News ...A bill that bans the wearing of masks during a riot or unlawful assembly and carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence with a conviction of the offence became law today (in Canada)...Tennessee Ends $40 Million in Child Allowances for Unemployed Associated Press ...The state is notifying Tennesseans drawing unemployment benefits that they will soon lose a weekly $15-per-child allowance as part of a new law signed by Republican Gov. Bill Haslam...State of Ohio skips union, picks private food service Columbus Dispatch ...A Philadelphia mega-company that provides food and beverage service at ballparks, national parks, hospitals and schools nationwide has been picked to provide private food service for Ohio prisons...Alaska minimum wage hike plan gets go-ahead Associated Press ...The organizers of a ballot initiative to raise the minimum wage in Alaska have been given the go-ahead to begin collecting signature, Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell said Monday....Montana will prosper with equal pay for equal work (opinion) Billings Gazette ...Fifty years after President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, American women earn, on average, 77 percent of what their male counterparts do. In Montana, women are earning only 67 percent for doing the same work, putting Montana in 39th place for pay equity...Indiana gives BP a pass on mercury Chicago Tribune ...Under the terms of an earlier decision by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, the BP refinery can legally discharge an annual average of 23.1 parts per trillion of mercury — nearly 20 times the federal water quality standard...Indiana grain elevator blast kills 1 worker Associated Press ...An explosion Monday inside a grain elevator killed a worker at a sprawling northwestern Indiana farm co-op, authorities said...Teamster UPS Vote IBT ...National Master Contract 34037 (Y) 29576 (N)...Teamster UPS Freight Returns IBT ...1897 (Y) 4244 (N)...Pepsi Plant Employees Reject Contract Offer Associated Press ...Employees at the Pepsi Beverage plant in Huntington, who are members of Teamsters Local 175, have unanimously rejected a contract offer they claim would erode their current benefits...Carteret firm's truckers to vote Friday on joining Teamsters union NJ.com ...Friday’s vote, which follows a contentious unionization campaign, involves 112 short and long-haul drivers and support workers for Toll Global Forwarding...Listen To The Rick Smith Show’s Broadcasts From His People’s Tour Of America IBT ...The Teamsters are supporting Brother Rick Smith as he takes his labor radio show from his home in Harrisburg, Pa. on a cross-country tour from June 11 to July 5. On the way, he is meeting with union leaders and workers about the state of the American labor movement and the challenges facing the middle class. Come back to this page daily to hear the latest from his road travels...